Safety Joe
John Prine (2005)
Fingerpicking Pattern
-|----------------I-------|
4|----------I----------(I)|
4|------T------------T----|
-|-T-----------T----------|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Intro
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [C] | [G] |
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [D] | [G] |
| [G] Well, he never got too lonely | [G] .... |
| [C] And he never got too sad | [C] .... |
| [D] But he never got too happy | [D] .... |
| [C] And that's what's just too | [G] bad |
| [G] He never reached much further | [G] .... |
| [C] Than his lonely arms would go | [C] .... |
| [D] He wore a seatbelt around his | [D] heart
And they | [D] called him Safety | [G] Joe
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] .... |
| [G] Now Joe he lived in | [G] Baltimore |
| [C] Cause New York was too darn | [C] fast |
| [D] He sometimes went down to | [D] Washington |
| [C] Just to view our nation's | [G] past |
| [G] He never ate his vegetables | [G] .... |
| [C] Cause they were just too darn | [C] chewy |
| [D] And he never climbed much | [D] higher
Than the | [D] arch in old St. | [G] Louis
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] .... |
Instrumental
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [G] | [G] | [D] | [D] |
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [G] | [G] |
| [G] Joe gradually grew meaner | [G] .... |
| [C] By not changin' his demeanor | [C] ....
But he | [D] never did nothin' too | [D] much, for too long | [G] .... | [G] .... |
| [G] Therefore his life never got much | [G] richer |
| [C] Than the day they took that | [C] picture |
| [D] In his birthday suit | [D] on the day that he was | [G] born | [G] ....
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] ....
Well you're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom
Safety | [G] Joe [C] | [G↓] [D↓] [G↓] That's golden
#Play along with John Prine in this key.
#Last Updated 10/03/2021 JJ
Visit UkeboxLessons
John Prine (2005)
Fingerpicking Pattern
-|----------------I-------|
4|----------I----------(I)|
4|------T------------T----|
-|-T-----------T----------|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Intro
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [C] | [G] |
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [D] | [G] |
| [G] Well, he never got too lonely | [G] .... |
| [C] And he never got too sad | [C] .... |
| [D] But he never got too happy | [D] .... |
| [C] And that's what's just too | [G] bad |
| [G] He never reached much further | [G] .... |
| [C] Than his lonely arms would go | [C] .... |
| [D] He wore a seatbelt around his | [D] heart
And they | [D] called him Safety | [G] Joe
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] .... |
| [G] Now Joe he lived in | [G] Baltimore |
| [C] Cause New York was too darn | [C] fast |
| [D] He sometimes went down to | [D] Washington |
| [C] Just to view our nation's | [G] past |
| [G] He never ate his vegetables | [G] .... |
| [C] Cause they were just too darn | [C] chewy |
| [D] And he never climbed much | [D] higher
Than the | [D] arch in old St. | [G] Louis
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] .... |
Instrumental
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [G] | [G] | [D] | [D] |
| [G] | [G] | [C] | [C] |
| [D] | [D] | [G] | [G] |
| [G] Joe gradually grew meaner | [G] .... |
| [C] By not changin' his demeanor | [C] ....
But he | [D] never did nothin' too | [D] much, for too long | [G] .... | [G] .... |
| [G] Therefore his life never got much | [G] richer |
| [C] Than the day they took that | [C] picture |
| [D] In his birthday suit | [D] on the day that he was | [G] born | [G] ....
Chorus
Safety | [G] Joe (Safety | [G] Joe) Safety | [C] Joe (Safety | [C] Joe) |
| [G] What do you | [G] say? What do you | [D] know? | [D] ....
If you don't | [G] loosen up the | [G] buckle, on your | [C] heart and start to | [C] chuckle
You're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom Safety | [G] Joe | [G] ....
Well you're | [D] gonna die of | [D] boredom
Safety | [G] Joe [C] | [G↓] [D↓] [G↓] That's golden
#Play along with John Prine in this key.
#Last Updated 10/03/2021 JJ
Visit UkeboxLessons